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Apporto, the platform making it easier to shop groceries for others

21
March
2018

You can’t get to the shop because you are ill or had an accident? Is it difficult for you to take heavy groceries home? Or do you simply not have enough time? Colruyt Group intends to offer a sustainable solution in all these situations and that is why we are launching Apporto today, a platform making it easier to shop groceries for others. Through this service people shopping at Colruyt, OKay, Bio-Planet or Spar Colruyt Group are brought into contact with people, like you, who want their groceries to be delivered (at home).

Coordination of supply and demand

Under the motto “Graag gebracht, met plezier gekregen” (“A pleasure to bring, a joy to receive”) the Apporto shopping platform coordinates the supply and demand of registered users. On the one hand, it is about people who, for some reason, cannot get to the shop or who like their groceries to be delivered at home, at work or anywhere else. On the other hand, Apporto is a practical tool for everyone prepared to go shopping for others. The service is accessible through an app for smartphone, which can be downloaded for free in the App Store and on Google Play.

Colruyt Group aims to increase the connection between people through the platform.

How does it work?

The principle is easy: in the Apporto app you prepare your grocery list and enter where and when you would like your groceries to be delivered. The app matches your request to your contacts or to the entire Apporto community. Suppose Oliver planned to go shopping today. He notices that he lives near you and lets you know that he also wants to do your shopping. The app will combine both of your grocery lists. When leaving the store Olivier registers this in the app and notifies you that he is on his way. He gives you your groceries and you pay him either in cash or with your bank app.

The app combines grocery lists and provides a clear overview.

Investing in connecting people

For Colruyt Group the Apporto platform contributes to adding sustainability to social relations. Apporto is aimed at people who are already doing groceries together, and also people who don't know each other yet. “In a time of increasing social isolation and people keeping more to themselves, our intention - as a retailer - is to ensure people have more social contacts”, says Frans Colruyt, COO of Colruyt Group.

No smartphone?

For people with less digital skills Apporto developed a telephone platform. A first application, the Samana Grocery List, is currently being rolled out in Flanders. Users pass on their grocery list by telephone to the Samana volunteers (the former CM Ziekenzorg), and then carers or other volunteers will do their grocery shopping.